While sharing some commonalities with slot machines, a fruit machine is distinctively British and has been a popular fixture in the United Kingdom for decades. The term “fruit machine” was derived from machines released by The Bell-Fruit Gum company that dispensed gum as prizes. In fact, the BAR symbol, which is still used today, was […]

What we don’t know about other people could fill the space between us and them. When I was 14 I visited Ireland with my parents. As we drove around the countryside we enjoyed everything that you are supposed to enjoy on an Ireland trip, namely the beauty of the green countryside. However, things in Belfast, […]

An absolute not-to-miss stop on any trip to Belfast, the Crown Bar is one of the oldest and most frequented landmarks in the city. Built in 1826, mostly at the hands of skilled Italian craftsmen who had arrived in Northern Ireland to meet the needs of a sharp increase in the demand for the construction […]